Gauss-Jacobi-type quadrature rules for fractional directional integrals

Fractional directional integrals are the extensions of the Riemann–Liouville fractional integrals from one- to multi-dimensional spaces and play an important role in extending the fractional differentiation to diverse applications. In numerical evaluation of these integrals, the weakly singular kernels often fail the conventional quadrature rules such as Newton–Cotes and Gauss–Legendre rules. It is noted that these kernels after simple transforms can be taken as the Jacobi weight functions which are related to the weight factors of Gauss–Jacobi and Gauss–Jacobi–Lobatto rules. These rules can evaluate the fractional integrals at high accuracy. Comparisons with the three typical adaptive quadrature rules are presented to illustrate the efficacy of the Gauss–Jacobi-type rules in handling weakly singular kernels of different strengths. Potential applications of the proposed rules in formulating and benchmarking new numerical schemes for generalized fractional diffusion problems are briefly discussed in the final remarking section.postprin

A 10-year study reveals clinical and laboratory evidence for the 'semi-invasive' properties of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis

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Assessment of SARS-CoV-2 Immunity in Convalescent Children and Adolescents

Persistence of protective immunity for SARS-CoV-2 is important against reinfection. Knowledge on SARS-CoV-2 immunity in pediatric patients is currently lacking. We opted to assess the SARS-CoV-2 adaptive immunity in recovered children and adolescents, addressing the pediatrics specific immunity towards COVID-19. Two independent assays were performed to investigate humoral and cellular immunological memory in pediatric convalescent COVID-19 patients. Specifically, RBD IgG, CD4+, and CD8+ T cell responses were identified and quantified in recovered children and adolescents. SARS-CoV-2-specific RBD IgG detected in recovered patients had a half-life of 121.6 days and estimated duration of 7.9 months compared with baseline levels in controls. The specific T cell response was shown to be independent of days after diagnosis. Both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells showed robust responses not only to spike (S) peptides (a main target of vaccine platforms) but were also similarly activated when stimulated by membrane (M) and nuclear (N) peptides. Importantly, we found the differences in the adaptive responses were correlated with the age of the recovered patients. The CD4+ T cell response to SARS-CoV-2 S peptide in children aged <12 years correlated with higher SARS-CoV-2 RBD IgG levels, suggesting the importance of a T cell-dependent humoral response in younger children under 12 years. Both cellular and humoral immunity against SARS-CoV-2 infections can be induced in pediatric patients. Our important findings provide fundamental knowledge on the immune memory responses to SARS-CoV-2 in recovered pediatric patients

Oral health and breastfeeding promotion program for pregnant women

The aim of this project was to promote the awareness and knowledge of pregnant women and infant oral health as well as the oral benefits of breastfeeding through a multi-disciplinary approach. This pilot oral health promotion program was developed to promote oral health knowledge related to the common dental problems among pregnant women and infants, and the oral health advantages of breastfeeding for infants. The program was conducted twice during March to April 2016 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. It consisted of a 15-minute PowerPoint presentation and a 15-minute small-group interactive workshop on Oral Hygiene Instructions. Evaluation forms were used to collect the feedbacks of the participants. The feedbacks for both the PowerPoint presentation and the interactive workshop were positive. Over 70% of the participants found that the contents were well-presented and the dental students were able to answer their questions. Furthermore, the participants agreed that the stated objectives of the program were met and the content of the program could be applicable in the coming future. Over 80% of the participants expressed that they understood the oral health advantages of breastfeeding after this program. To conclude, this program can effectively promote the key oral health messages about the common oral health problems of pregnant women and infants as well as the oral health advantages of breastfeeding. Also, this program can be effectively incorporated into the existing ante-natal classes. Further research can be performed to quantify the effectiveness by comparing the dental knowledge of pregnant women before and after this program. Further cooperation with a wider range of organizations, such as midwifery and nursing schools should also be explored.published_or_final_versio

Tailoring force sensitivity and selectivity by microstructure engineering of multidirectional electronic skins

Electronic skins (e-skins) with high sensitivity to multidirectional mechanical stimuli are crucial for healthcare monitoring devices, robotics, and wearable sensors. In this study, we present piezoresistive e-skins with tunable force sensitivity and selectivity to multidirectional forces through the engineered microstructure geometries (i.e., dome, pyramid, and pillar). Depending on the microstructure geometry, distinct variations in contact area and localized stress distribution are observed under different mechanical forces (i.e., normal, shear, stretching, and bending), which critically affect the force sensitivity, selectivity, response/relaxation time, and mechanical stability of e-skins. Microdome structures present the best force sensitivities for normal, tensile, and bending stresses. In particular, microdome structures exhibit extremely high pressure sensitivities over broad pressure ranges (47,062 kPa(-1) in the range of &lt; 1 kPa, 90,657 kPa(-1) in the range of 1-10 kPa, and 30,214 kPa(-1) in the range of 10-26 kPa). On the other hand, for shear stress, micropillar structures exhibit the highest sensitivity. As proof-of-concept applications in healthcare monitoring devices, we show that our e-skins can precisely monitor acoustic waves, breathing, and human artery/carotid pulse pressures. Unveiling the relationship between the microstructure geometry of e-skins and their sensing capability would provide a platform for future development of high-performance microstructured e-skins

Clinical and neuroradiological features of viral encephalitis: a hospital-based study

Oral PresentationThis journal supplement contains abstracts from the 17th MRC; Dept. of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong KongTopics: Basic science, translational and clinical researchINTRODUCTION: Viral encephalitis is an important infection of the central nervous system with significant morbidity and mortality. We studied the clinical, laboratory and radiological characteristics of viral encephalitis patients managed in our hospital, focusing on factors associated with poor prognosis. METHODS: We retrospectively studied the clinical features of patients diagnosed …published_or_final_versionThe 17th Medical Research Conference (MRC), Department of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 14 January 2012. In Hong Kong Medical Journal, 2012, v. 18 suppl. 1, p. 31, abstract no. 3

PatternLab for proteomics: a tool for differential shotgun proteomics

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A goal of proteomics is to distinguish between states of a biological system by identifying protein expression differences. Liu <it>et al</it>. demonstrated a method to perform semi-relative protein quantitation in shotgun proteomics data by correlating the number of tandem mass spectra obtained for each protein, or "spectral count", with its abundance in a mixture; however, two issues have remained open: how to normalize spectral counting data and how to efficiently pinpoint differences between profiles. Moreover, Chen <it>et al</it>. recently showed how to increase the number of identified proteins in shotgun proteomics by analyzing samples with different MS-compatible detergents while performing proteolytic digestion. The latter introduced new challenges as seen from the data analysis perspective, since replicate readings are not acquired.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>To address the open issues above, we present a program termed PatternLab for proteomics. This program implements existing strategies and adds two new methods to pinpoint differences in protein profiles. The first method, ACFold, addresses experiments with less than three replicates from each state or having assays acquired by different protocols as described by Chen <it>et al</it>. ACFold uses a combined criterion based on expression fold changes, the AC test, and the false-discovery rate, and can supply a "bird's-eye view" of differentially expressed proteins. The other method addresses experimental designs having multiple readings from each state and is referred to as nSVM (natural support vector machine) because of its roots in evolutionary computing and in statistical learning theory. Our observations suggest that nSVM's niche comprises projects that select a minimum set of proteins for classification purposes; for example, the development of an early detection kit for a given pathology. We demonstrate the effectiveness of each method on experimental data and confront them with existing strategies.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>PatternLab offers an easy and unified access to a variety of feature selection and normalization strategies, each having its own niche. Additionally, graphing tools are available to aid in the analysis of high throughput experimental data. PatternLab is available at <url>http://pcarvalho.com/patternlab</url>.</p

Air–liquid interface cultures enhance the oxygen supply and trigger the structural and functional differentiation of intestinal porcine epithelial cells (IPEC)

The specific function of the epithelium as critical barrier between the intestinal lumen and the organism’s internal microenvironment is reflected by permanent maintenance of intercellular junctions and cellular polarity. The intestinal epithelial cells are responsible for absorption of nutritional components, facing mechanical stress and a changing oxygen supplementation via blood stream. Oxygen itself can regulate the barrier and the absorptive function of the epithelium. Therefore, we compared the dish cell culture, the transwell-like membrane culture and the oxygen enriched air–liquid interface (ALI) culture. We demonstrated strong influence of the different culture conditions on morphology and function of intestinal porcine epithelial cell lines in vitro. ALI culture resulted in a significant increase in cell number, epithelial cell layer thickness and expression as well as apical localisation of the microvilli-associated protein villin. Remarkable similarities regarding the morphological parameters were observed between ALI cultures and intestinal epithelial cells in vivo. Furthermore, the functional analysis of protein uptake and degradation by the epithelial cells demonstrated the necessity of sufficient oxygen supply as achieved in ALI cultures. Our study is the first report providing marked evidence that optimised oxygen supply using ALI cultures directly affects the morphological differentiation and functional properties of intestinal epithelial cells in vitro

Effectiveness of photodynamic therapy for mammary and extra-mammary Paget's disease: a state of the science review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Paget's disease is a rare skin disorder occurring in the breast (mammary) or in the groin, genital, peri-anal and axillary regions (extra-mammary). Typical treatment involves surgical excision, which in the case of extra-mammary Paget's disease, can lead to significant morbidity. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) which uses a topical or intravenous photosensitizing agent that is activated by a light source to ablate abnormal tissue, offers a minimally invasive alternative. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of photodynamic therapy in the treatment of Paget's disease.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Following Cochrane guidelines, a comprehensive systematic review of all clinical studies and reports examining the use of PDT for mammary and extra-mammary Paget's disease was conducted. Study quality was assessed using the Oxford Levels of Evidence Scale.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>21 retrospective and 2 prospective non-comparative studies were identified and included in the review: 9 case reports with 1-2 patients and 14 case series with 1-16 patients. These reports totalled 99 patients with 133 extra-mammary Paget's lesions and 3 patients (with 3 lesions) with mammary Paget's disease. Follow-up periods were typically one year or less, with 77/133 extra-mammary lesions exhibiting complete response to PDT. One recurrent mammary skin lesion and two mammary lesions treated concomitantly with surgery also exhibited complete responses.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Evidence of the effectiveness of PDT for Paget's disease is promising, but limited. This may, in part, be explained by the rarity of the condition, making controlled comparative clinical trials challenging.</p